Your browser does not support the <audio> element.
After three days in the great outdoors, gnawing anxiety sets in. The air may be fresh but the woman in the advert is not. The backs of her knees have begun to emit an unusual smell. Luckily for her fellow campers, she has packed a tube of Peach and Vanilla Blossom Whole Body Deodorant Cream, a fresh product launched in January by Secret, a personal-care brand.
Americans have long had a particular aversion to stench. Last year they bought $6.6bn worth of deodorant, the equivalent of nearly $20 per person—more than in any other rich country, according to Euromonitor, a research firm. Lately companies like Secret have been encouraging them to hunt out odours from their feet to their “underboobs”. Google searches for “whole-body deodorant” shot up by 1,000% in the year to March (albeit from a low base).
“The conversation about body odour is no longer limited to underarms,” declares Pranav Chandan, who is in charge of deodorants in America for Unilever, a consumer-products giant. “We know that people are experiencing unwanted odours all over their bodies,” he says. Earlier this year Dove and SheaMoisture, two of the company’s brands, launched their own full-body deodorants.
For the most part these creams, sprays and sticks are deodorants, which cover up smells, rather than antiperspirants, which stop the sweat that causes them. That is a good thing, says Andrew Best, a biologist at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, because “blocking sweating on larger parts of your body is asking for overheating”.
One body part that has attracted particular attention is the groin. In 2017 Shannon Klingman, a gynaecologist, launched Lume, a deodorant she first whipped up in a kitchen mixer, with the goal of masking “front fumes”. The company has since been acquired by Harry’s, a purveyor of razors.
Some medical professionals grimace at the fragrances used in these products, which may cause irritation or infections when applied near the crotch. (Unilever and Procter & Gamble, the maker of Secret, say their products have been tested with gynaecologists for safety.)
Others sniff at the idea that natural odours must be covered up. Lume’s website laments how odour undermines women’s “self-worth”. Jennifer Lincoln, a gynaecologist, thinks urging women to smell like “piña coladas” will hardly help restore it. (Technically the scent in question is Bay Rum.) Although the products seem to be mostly targeted at women, fragrances such as Bourbon Leather ensure men do not feel left out.
Mr Best, who studies the role of sweat in human endurance, thinks being ashamed of perspiration is like feeling sheepish about “having language or a big brain”. Still, he does not recommend people abandon deodorant altogether—nor the occasional shower.■
To stay on top of the biggest stories in business and technology, sign up to the Bottom Line, our weekly subscriber-only newsletter.
